Peace to the Struggling Hearts

“Blessed are those who do not fear solitude,

who are not afraid of their own company,

who are not always desperately looking for something to do,

something to amuse themselves with,

something to judge.”

Author ~ Paolo Coelho

“Blessed are you who learn that to hear the Will of your Father is to know your own. For it is your will to be like Him, Whose Will it is that it be so. God’s Will is that His Son be one, and united with Him in His Oneness. That is why healing is the beginning of the recognition that your will is His.” 

A Course in Miracles T-11.I.11:6-9

“Glory be to God, and peace to the struggling hearts! Christ hath rolled away the stone from the door of human hope and faith, and through the revelation and demonstration of life in God, hath elevated them to possible at-one-ment with the spiritual idea of man and his divine Principle, Love.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 26:14-21

Divided We Fall

 

David French has written a book entitled, "Divided We Fall", which addresses our need to reduce friction in politics. He recommends embracing three ideals: justice, mercy, and humility. Mr. French has close-up experience in racial issues as he and his wife adopted a child from Ethiopia ten years ago. They live in Tennessee. They found out how ugly people can be. To quote him: "Between slavery and Jim Crow -- 345 yars of legally enforced racial discrimination defended by violence -- it's going to take a long time to unwind the effects of that." He warns against claiming to know exactly how to do that, and warns against arrogantly spurning those who disagree with your approach.  He states: "The quest for justice, untempered by civility and untempered by mercy, can tear us apart." This seems to be the wall many of us are discovering with our friends and neighbors: How to be civil and merciful, while also helping to neutralize the bigotry and racism which seem to be so deeply ingrained in our society. He further explains, "Walking into a public policy debate with humility, knowing that you don't have all the answers, is going to foster a degree of mercy and kindness. And that doesn't mean that you back away from the quest for justice. It just means you're approaching it from the proper mindset." I hope to learn more about the mindset of peaceful communication and the calm assertion of truth. Namaste...

"This period is not essentially one of conscience; few feel and live now as when this nation began, and our forefathers' prayers blended with the murmuring winds of their forest home. This is a period of doubt, inquiry, good, and mysterious evil. But sin can only work out its own destruction; and reform does and must push on the growth of mankind." 

Mary Baker Eddy - Miscellaneous Writings Page 237:16 

“It is this one intent we seek today, uniting our desires with the need of every heart, the call of every mind, the hope that lies beyond despair, the love attack would hide, the brotherhood that hate has sought to sever, but which still remains as God created it. With Help like this beside us, can we fail today as we request the peace of God be given us?” 

A Course in Miracles W-185.14:1-2

Unsatisfied Human Craving

 

Art by Andrea Kowch - “Without Measure” - 2022

Thinking of ourselves as unlimited contradicts everything we've been taught. Many of our first memories are of being told to be careful or else something dire might happen. Quantum physics is helping us to understand that form isn't as solid as we've been told. With that understanding, it becomes clear that many limitations we've placed upon ourselves are nothing more than beliefs in material laws. Limitations are discarded when an athlete breaks a record in the Olympics, or if someone performs a seemingly-impossible feat, such as lifting a car off a trapped loved one. We've all heard people tell tales we think of as supernatural, such as falling great distances and feeling as though they landed on a cushion, or so-called incurable diseases disappearing.  Now, I'm not suggesting we exchange one human belief for yet another, but that we look to divine Mind to tell us the truth of our being and that we allow ourselves to be led in paths we wouldn't have considered otherwise. Thought is shifting so rapidly at this time! Let's not be afraid …

“A mortal, corporeal, or finite conception of God cannot embrace the glories of limitless, incorporeal Life and Love. Hence the unsatisfied human craving for something better, higher, holier, than is afforded by a material belief in a physical God and man. ” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 258: 1-6

“You on earth have no conception of limitlessness, for the world you seem to live in is a world of limits. In this world, it is not true that anything without order of difficulty can occur. The miracle, therefore, has a unique function, and is motivated by a unique Teacher Who brings the laws of another world to this one. The miracle is the one thing you can do that transcends order, being based not on differences but on equality.” 

A Course in Miracles - T-14.X.2:4-7

I Am Free, As God Created Me

 

Photo by Aaron Springston

Our local meeting of A Course in Miracles is always uplifting and insightful. This evening we read through the reviews of Workbook Lessons 201-220, which are centered around the idea: “I am not a body, I am free. I am still as God created me.” The comments about these words prompted deep thought on their meaning, and I am grateful. When returning home from this delightful evening, I opened my mailbox and found a note from a dear friend. She tells me she has been diagnosed with bone cancer. Because I was still floating from our discussion on the true, spiritual nature we all share, it didn’t occur to me to be sad or to see her as anything other than the image and likeness of God. I have found through the years that telling someone “they are not a body, they are free”, does nothing for them other than make them think you’re a bit loony and, perhaps, turn them against learning what the statement truly means. I tend to listen to intuition, and a couple of weeks ago I ordered the book by Anita Moorjami titled “Dying To Be Me”. This is her journey through cancer and near death. She is now an inspirational speaker. I didn’t know why I ordered this book, but now I do. It’s for my friend.  The ideas in this book are the perfect starting point for the uninitiated in divinely metaphysical thought. I now know who I bought it for …

“In divine Science, man is the true image of God. The divine nature was best expressed in Christ Jesus, who threw upon mortals the truer reflection of God and lifted their lives higher than their poor thought-models would allow, — thoughts which presented man as fallen, sick, sinning, and dying. The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea, — perfect God and perfect man, — as the basis of thought and demonstration.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 259:6-14

“Be free today. And carry freedom as your gift to those who still believe they are enslaved within a body. Be you free, so that the Holy Spirit can make use of your escape from bondage, to set free the many who perceive themselves as bound and helpless and afraid. Let love replace their fears through you. Accept salvation now, and give your mind to Him Who calls to you to make this gift to Him. For He would give you perfect freedom, perfect joy, and hope that finds its full accomplishment in God.” 

A Course in Miracles W-199.7:1-6

Focus on the Moment

 

Grand-baby Torin living in the moment

I have a friend who occasionally comes to me for help with her computer. Today was one of those days. She had been trying to complete a simple task, and after two hours of failed efforts, she came to me. I signed in to her account and got it done quickly. And then we had a talk. I know this woman well or I wouldn’t have been quite as blunt about her plight. I told her she needed to concentrate on one thing at at time. She told me she had attention deficit disorder. What I didn’t tell her was that I think we all do, but we can train ourselves to focus. I suggested meditation for her, perhaps reading Ram Dass’s “Be Here Now” and/or Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now” — and she broke in to tell me she had done that years ago. She knew all about it. I smiled and told her to come to me if she wanted any help in her experience of the present. This caused me to think back to the years I flitted from one task to another, never finishing anything and becoming quite frustrated in the process. It took years to figure out what I was doing, and it’s an ongoing process to stay calmly on track. I truly feel it’s the acknowledgement and awareness of what we’re doing, then deciding if that’s how we want to live. If you don’t like the way things went today, be happy in the knowledge you can choose again!

“Your distorted perceptions produce a dense cover over miracle impulses, making it hard for them to reach your own awareness. The confusion of miracle impulses with physical impulses is a major perceptual distortion. Physical impulses are misdirected miracle impulses. All real pleasure comes from doing God’s Will. This is because not doing it is a denial of Self. Denial of Self results in illusions, while correction of the error brings release from it. Do not deceive yourself into believing that you can relate in peace to God or to your brothers with anything external.” 

A Course in Miracles T-1.VII.1:1-7

“Materialists contradict their own statements. Their belief in material laws and in penalties for their infraction is the ancient error that there is fraternity between pain and pleasure, good and evil, God and Satan. This belief totters to its falling before the battle-axe of Science.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 389:22-27

Saving Grace

 

Photo credit: Aaron Springston

My latest binge-watching series is called “Bull”. It’s about a psychologist who works with attorneys to select juries. Of course, during these trials he ends up discovering the truth and the innocent are always found to be so.  It’s wonderful to hear stories of people being rescued who have fallen through the wide cracks of our legal system. One of my dear friends is in danger of being convicted in what appears to be a victimless crime. Although I don’t know the details (and probably don’t want to know), this man is a fine human being who is trying against all odds to straighten his life out and be an asset to our community. I’ve known him for decades and want to do anything possible to help him. And I feel like I have. Will there be anything to be done tomorrow or the next day? I don’t know. But what I can do every moment he comes into my thought is to see him as a reflection of the divine Mind which created him. Knowing that he is seeing past the impediments which seem to be in his way, listening for the guiding thoughts of Love, he’ll make it through this. On my new favorite show, technology and great employees help “Bull” to see his way to saving clients. Listening for the guidance of the Universe will see my friend home. Namaste ….             

“We cannot fathom the nature and quality of God’s creation by diving into the shallows of mortal belief. We must reverse our feeble flutterings — our efforts to find life and truth in matter — and rise above the testimony of the material senses, above the mortal to the immortal idea of God. These clearer, higher views inspire the God like man to reach the absolute centre and circumference of his being.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 262:9-16

“Without love is justice prejudiced and weak. And love without justice is impossible. For love is fair, and cannot chasten without cause. What cause can be to warrant an attack upon the innocent? In justice, then, does love correct mistakes, but not in vengeance. For that would be unjust to innocence.” 

A Course in Miracles T-25.VIII.11:7-12

Evolutionary Religion

 

A lot has changed in the last couple of millennia, don't you think? We have a far deeper understanding of the workings of our universe, and our thinking has expanded exponentially about many topics. Something which has not changed appreciably is our idea about God. Religion has pretty well held us locked in to what has been taught as truth. Many of us are fearlessly admitting that we are all, each and every one, the expression and experience of God. We're happily allowing our thoughts to embrace new concepts such as, "I am the light of the world"! This is not a self-important declaration, but an all-inclusive, divine-Love centered exclamation of the wonder we know as Life. Our expanding thought is bringing a joy we never dreamed would be possible on this earth plane. We're beginning to understand that the kingdom of heaven is right here, right now, waiting for us to embrace it. If your belief system doesn’t  answer every question you have, if you are believing doctrine simply because you’ve been told to do so, you aren’t alone. Never be afraid to question so-called authority!

“The Hebrew and Greek words often translated belief differ somewhat in meaning from that conveyed by the English verb believe; they have more the significance of faith, understanding, trust, constancy, firmness. Hence the Scriptures often appear in our common version to approve and endorse belief, when they mean to enforce the necessity of understanding.” 

Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 488:7-1

“A major tenet in the ego’s insane religion is that sin is not error but truth, and it is innocence that would deceive. Purity is seen as arrogance, and the acceptance of the self as sinful is perceived as holiness. And it is this doctrine that replaces the reality of the Son of God as his Father created him, and willed that he be forever. Is this humility? Or is it, rather, an attempt to wrest creation away from truth, and keep it separate” 

A Course in Miracles T-19.II.4:1-5